rejected the call, saying “extensive information” on what businesses and citizens need to do to prepare for
Brexit is already available online.
It came after Mr Johnson dismissed a push from more than 100 MPs, backed by the Labour leader and his
shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, for parliament to cut short its summer break in order to tackle the
looming exit from the EU on 31 October.
The government has been embroiled in a separate row over when the leaked documents were written.
Though Michael Gove, who is in charge of no-deal preparations, said the dossier was an “old document”, it
was reported that the assessments were sent to devolved governments as recently as this month. As the row
escalated, Mr Corbyn called for the latest assessments to be released immediately.
Speaking as he prepared to meet business leaders to discuss the potential impact of no deal, the Labour
leader said: “The government’s own Operation Yellowhammer dossier makes the chaos and damage that
will be caused by Boris Johnson’s no-deal Brexit crystal clear.
“If the government wants to be believed that it doesn’t represent the real impact, it must publish its most
recent assessments today in full. Boris Johnson’s denials can’t be trusted, and will do nothing to give
businesses or consumers any confidence that the dire state of affairs described in these documents aren’t
right around the corner. What we know for sure is that this government is wilfully committed to a policy
that the prime minister and the cabinet know will destroy jobs, push up food prices in the shops and open
up our NHS to a takeover by US private companies.”
He claimed that Mr Johnson wanted to “use no deal to create a tax haven for the super-rich on the shores of
Europe and sign a sweetheart trade deal with Donald Trump”, and promised that Labour would do
everything it could to stop a no-deal exit.
Operation Yellowhammer is the codename given to government contingency planning for a potential no-
deal Brexit. The leaked dossier on the plans warned that the UK could be faced with months of chaos
following a no-deal exit, including a three-month “meltdown” at ports, a hard border in Northern Ireland,
and shortages of some foods, medicines and fuel. It said delays at ports would “affect fuel distribution” and
that medical supplies would be “vulnerable to severe extended delays”. Attempts to avoid the return of a
hard border in Northern Ireland were likely to prove “unsustainable”, it said.
Yesterday, Mr Johnson dismissed the potential chaos. Speaking during a visit to a hospital in Cornwall, he
said: “’I’m not going to suggest that there won’t be – as I said on the steps of Downing Street – there may
well be bumps in the road but we will be ready to come out on 31 October, deal or no deal.”
It was also reported yesterday that British diplomats across Europe were preparing to take part in a
government-wide rehearsal for a no-deal exit from bloc. BuzzFeed News said the operation – codenamed
“Exercise Yellow Rehearse” – is being led by the Cabinet Office and is due to take place three weeks before
the Brexit deadline of 31 October.
Responding to the demand for the Operation Yellowhammer documents to be released, a government
spokesperson told The Independent: “The government has significantly stepped up preparations for Brexit
on 31 October and, as the chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster has made clear, this document is out of date.
“We will continue to work flat out to make sure that our departure from the EU is as smooth as possible –
whatever the circumstances. Extensive information on what businesses and citizens need to do to prepare is
already available on gov.uk and we will continue to publish information that is accurate and up to date.”